Learning To Love Ones Self
by GASPLudwig
Summary: What happens when a girl who has never heard of magic before goes to Hogwarts? Sepperated from her sisters and all alone in the gryffindor house, leaves her devistated, but what will Emily do? Can she find love when she doesn't even love herself? OC/DM
1. Chapter 1

**Okay guys, so I don't actually know how to spell everyone's names, so if I spell it wrong, and you know how to spell it right, please let me know! **

_Chapter 1~ Emily Ricord_

I was sitting in one of those small little train compartments on my way to Hogwarts School For Witch Craft and Wizardry. I've got to admit, when I first got that acceptance letter, I was a little more then stunned. Partly because I didn't know magic existed, and partly because that was the day, that I, Emily Ricord, was a witch. I was even more surprised, when my parents brought up all of their old spell books, and made me and my sister, Rose, study vigorously throughout the entire summer. Me and Rose were twins that would both be entering our 5th year. We were both sixteen, both incredibly smart, and both incredibly different. She liked techno music, I like rock, she liked pancakes, I liked muffins, she liked the color green, and my favorite was yellow. She was the kind of girl who sat in the back of the class and played tricks on other students, while I was the kind who sat in front and drew pictures beside my notes. But it wasn't just our personalities that were different, it was our looks too. So no, we weren't identical twins, not by a long shot. You see, she had this gorgeous, auburn colored hair that bounced above her shoulders, and I had this dreadful wavy mass of honey blond that swung to the middle of my back. She had the best looking, bright green eyes you'll ever see, and I had these watery blue-ish purple ones. Her face was defined and womanly, and mine still held some of it's baby fat. Her face was naturally a glowing tan, while mine was a pale mess with constantly rosy cheeks that I just couldn't seem to cover up.

People always told me that I was beautiful and I hated it. They would say things like, 'oh how pretty your hair is!' or 'I'd die to have eyes like yours!' but I knew they thought I was ugly. Because if you spend so much time telling people that they are pretty, constantly trying to boost their self esteem, then it was because you wanted them to feel better about them selves, about their…ugliness?

Okay so I know I sound horrible by complaining about myself like this, but my life isn't all that bad. I mean, I have Parents that love me, the two best friends anyone could ever have, and to top it all off, would be spending the year at Hogwarts!

When I say I have two best friends, what I mean is, my sister, and Ava. Although I guess I could just call them BOTH my sisters since Ava was practically part of the family. She lived with us all her life, after her parents died, has always been my best friend, and is the greatest person you will ever meet. She is beautiful on the inside and out. I bet if you turned her inside out, she would still have a smile on her face, hidden underneath her short black hair that was cut to her chin and sparkling grey eyes. I loved her, sometimes more then my ACTUAL sister.

You see, I loved my sister to death, we were the perfect set of twins who knew what each other was thinking all the time, but we were both big grudge holders, so if we ever disagreed, for any reason at all, and got in a nasty fight, neither of us would brake until Ava make us both apologize for being such idiots. That's another reason while I loved Ava so much, she knew exactly what to do in a crisis.

Anyway, there we sat, in the small train compartment, telling stories about the past, and eating flavored jelly beans by the pounds, as the light outside the window slowly faded into the night sky, and everyone fell asleep. But the next thing I know, I get the rudest awakening of my life. A big tall man was banging on the door, letting us know we had arrived, and me and my sisters jumped up out of our sleep and began to fix ourselves. We turned our clothes the right way and Rose fixed the makeup she was wearing, and then we were off. We walked down the long cobble stone path, in the middle of houndreds of other students, rolling our suit cases behind us and holding hands.

When we got to the castle, I thought Ava might just die of shock. It was big, and sparkly, and just plain marvelous. We headed up the steps and filed into the dining hall after all the other students, as a big, fat man with a long brown beard called out for all the new students to make a single file line in front of the podium.

"Haggred's the name, boys and girls, now if you'd just line up here we can get you sorted in your houses." He seemed jolly enough. I was in the middle of the line, behind both Ava and Rose, waiting for our turn at the hat. Kid after kid went up and after the hat said a few words, the child was placed into a house.

Before long, Ava and Rose took their seats in the Raven Claw house and it was my turn up to bat.

When the hat was settled on my head all I could think about was Raven claw.

"Hmmm, You're a smart one aren't you? But quite shy I see?" It was quiet for a while as I thought of all the reasons I was shy, not really think to the hat, but more like to myself. "I assure you dear, you are not ugly…..no, no, not Raven claw, that just doesn't suit you…hmmm…" My face fell dramatically and I swung my glance hastily where Ava and Rose sat as they gasped loudly. "I think you'll do well in….GRYFFINDOR!" The hat called out and the Gryffindor table erupted In cheers as I stepped down from the chair and walked towards the Gryffindor table. I kept my head down, blushing slightly at the cheers. They cheered for ever student, but it still made me blush. I will not cry, I will not cry! I pulled my face into an emotionless façade and took a seat at the very end of the table, at least three seats away from where the last person sat.

I kept looking back at my sisters, and they kept their eyes glued to me. I could see the hurt in their eyes, and I'm sure they could see it in mine. How ever much my eyes screamed out for me to just cry, I kept my face perfectly impassive. My lips were set in a small smile, and my shoulders were set squarely. I didn't eat the night. I knew I should, but I didn't. I was skinny, but just the right amount in my opinion. I had a small amount of access fat, but not enough to even be considered chubby, and my curves were just right. I knew that the only good thing, if there even were any, was my body. Not that I wanted anyone looking at my body or anything. It's just that, some people take car of their hair, some their faces, but since both my hair and my face was something I didn't like to think about, I decided to focus on my body. I knew if I skipped this meal I would regret it later when I was hungry and had to pig out on the unhealthy food I kept in my suit case, but I just couldn't bring myself to eat. So I sat there, a few seats away from the rest of the table, starring at my plate, and biting my lip roughly, as everyone else laughed and ate joyfully.

It had been about an hour since we arrived, and we still sat in the dining hall while people continued to stuff their faces. At this point, I just wanted to go to the common rooms, and sleep. I waited impatiently for the rest of the people to get done eating as two red headed boys sat down next to me.

"Well hey there, I'm Fred!" Said the one on my right, "And I'm George!" The one on the left stated. "Fred, do we know this girl?" George asked expectantly to Fred.

"I don't believe we do George!" They chuckled immaturely and stared at me expecting something.

"Well then, come on!" Fred prompted.

"What's your name love?" George clarified.

"Oh," I sighed quietly, "Emily."

"Did you hear that George! Her name is Emily!" Fred smiled at me.

"I believe I did Fred! We've never met and Emily before have we?"

"Oh shut up the lot of you! Your going to scared the poor girl to death!" A girl around my size walked up and scolded the boys. Her hair was brown and in frizzy curls, and another red head boy followed behind her, along with a small little guy with dark hair and glasses. "I'm Hermione Granger." She stated proudly, shooing the twins away and taking the seat next to me, where Fred once sat. "This hear is Ron Weasely, and Harry Potter." She said the last name like it really meant something an I tried to think if I've ever heard him before.

"Oh…?" I looked a little confused and Hermione piped up.

"Surely you know who Harry Potter is!" She sounded astounded but my confused expression stayed.

"Odd." Ron chided and Hermione and Harry nodded their agreement.

"So then, what's your name?" Harry asked, as if purely interested.

"Emily." I smiled up at them.

"Very well then Emily, come on, we're going to the common room, care to join us?" Ron was all too chipper, and his face showed it.

"Sure she would!" Fred and George grinned at the same time, while each grabbing one of my arms and hauling me out of the dining hall. I looked back at my sisters who were shocked into a fit of laughter. They knew I didn't like to meet knew people, so they could only imagine how I felt.

When we got to the common rooms, Fred and George quickly occupied the couch, squashing me down in between the two of them as Ron and Hermione took the love seat to the right, and Harry sat in the arm chair to the left. They started up quiet chatter, complaining about classes they were dreading, and ones they were looking forward too. I sat quietly, knowing nothing about all of this, and watched the clock tick.

When it hit eight thirty, I sprung up out of my seat and announced I must be getting to bed. Some faces looked disappointed, and others impassive as I walked away from the couch only to realize I had no idea where to go.

"Um, where am I supposed to sleep?" I knew that my bags had been delivered to my room, I just didn't know exactly where it was. Hermione stood and took my hand, leading me up the stair case closest to the fire.

"This is the stair case leading to the girl's rooms. Now here's the room I'll be staying in with you and Ginny. She's Ron's sister, nice girl, you'll like her. She opened the second door to the left and walked in. Three beds were arranged against different walls in the square room. It was small, but that wouldn't be a problem. The bathroom was through the door next to the empty bed where my stuff had been placed. A small little thing was laying on the bed opposite from mine, she looked up at me with a huge smile and introduced herself as Ginny. Obviously a Weasley due to her red hair. I smiled back and listened half heartedly as Hermione explained about her study times and said that I was free to join her, I accepted the offer as I made my bed quietly and put away all of my things. When I was done, my watch said nine forty five, and I collapsed on the bed, ready to take that long awaited rest.


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, just to remind you, if I spelled anything wrong (which I'm absolutely positive I did) please let me know the correct spelling, this is my first Harry Potter fan fic and I have no idea how to spell all these complicated names! XD**

_Chapter 2~ Eat Slugs Weasley!_

The castle was, with out a doubt, the hardest place to get around in. I held the map up to my face like a tourist and wondered around aimlessly. I knew exactly where the common rooms were, where the dining hall was, and where one of the girls bathrooms were, but everything else was a mystery. I was hoping on relying on one of the Gryffindor students to have the same classes as me, but unfortunately, no one in the Gryffindor house except me had potions class first thing in the morning. I was walking down a brown marble hallway that looked identical to the others, except this one had large, open windows placed closely together on the right wall. I made my way past yet another girls bathroom and continued down the hall. I was lost. I was lost, but I would never admit it. I decided defeat when I made a circle and came back to the big windowed hall way again. This time, a well kept blonde boy from Slytherine stood at the end of the hall way, along with another dark haired Slytherine boy. They stood there talking to Ron, all three of them having hard expressions on their faces.

(Draco's POV)

I turned away from Weasley slightly to see the most beautiful girl I've ever laid eyes on walking towards us. I smiled to myself. She would be mine, just like every other girl in Hogwarts…well the girls that I wanted anyway. I turned back to Weasley, thinking of the perfect way to impress her by showing off my skills.

"Eat slugs Wealey!" I pointed my wand at him jut as she came into hearing distance. The little red head grabbed at his stomach and let a slug full from his mouth. I laughed out loud, hearing Crabb congratulate me.

"RON!" The girl dropped her books and ran the rest of the way toward us. She pushed me out of the way without a single glance and dumped out a flower pot on the window sill, positioning it under his mouth as slugs continued to fall. "It's okay, let it out." She soothed, running her hand along his back.

I laughed again and she turned to glare at me. "What did you do to him?" Her voice was harsh.

"Who do you think your talking to?" I stood tall and proud, how dare she speak to me that way.

"Well I'm looking at you!" she lifted her eye brows as if to say 'duh' and started to haul the red head into a standing position.

"I'll have you know your talking to a Malfoy!"

"Is that supposed to mean something!" She screeched as she set the red head back against the window sill.

"I AM DRACO MALFOY!"

"I AM EMILY RICORD!" Who the hell did she think she was!

"Well I don't care!" I sneered and motioned for Crabb to follow me down the hall way. She so wanted me.

"Where the hell do you think your going!" She ran up to me, pointing a finger into my chest.

"To class." I scoffed.

"Oh no your not! Your helping me bring him to the infirmary, not lets go!" I would have protested, but when she grabbed my hand and pulled me with her, I just couldn't pull it away. I mean, you don't just tell a woman as beautiful as her that she can't hold your hand! So I followed, much to my shame and when she let go of my hand and flung one of Weasley's arms over my shoulder, and the other on hers, I considered running again.

She held the bucket under his mouth as he kept puking slugs and rubbed his back kindly, telling him that it was okay and that he just needed to get it all out.

"I don't think I can make it." Weasley said, it was the only thing he's said for the last ten minutes that didn't include the name Hermione.

"Well then, come on, we'll take you to the common rooms, it's much closer." She just had to make everything easy on him didn't she?

"I can't go in there! I'm not a Gryffindor!" My feeble attempt to get out of bringing him into the common room was silenced by a glare Emily sent to me. "Fine, but I'm not staying.

When we got into the common room, I helped place Weasley down on the couch and sat back in the arm chair. I watched as she lit a fire and laid him on his side, positioning the bucket below his mouth. She heated up a rag and placed it on his head and when there was nothing else she could do she settled back onto the arm of my chair.

I looked at her slyly, then pulled her back so she was sitting on my lap. My arms were like iron around her waist, making her hasty attempts at squirming out of my grip impossible. When she realized this, she just huffed a sigh loudly and sat rigid against me. After a short while of sitting there, watching the red head kid puking slugs out, she gradually relaxed against me, and eventually fell sleep. She was nice when she slept. She wasn't yelling at me, or making her beautiful face scrunched up in anger, she just lay there breathing deeply, sighing every so often and turning her head slightly at moments to get more comfortable.

She woke up when red head over there stopped barfing and I released her from my grip as she made a move to go over to him.

"Do you feel better now?" She asked tiredly.

"Yes, but I think I'll just take a nap now if you don't mind."

"I was thinking the same thing" She chuckled and turned to look at me. "Thanks for your help, but you can go now if you want." She bite her lips shyly and it made me think of how badly I wanted to kiss those lips.

"I think I'll stay for a while." She just nodded and went to lay down on the love seat across from me. She held my eyes, still biting her lip and took a deep breath.

"Why did you do it?"

"Do what?" I asked confused.

"Why did you do it?"

"Do what?" I asked confused.

"You know," She said nodding towards the red head.

"Uh,…. I don't know." And I honestly didn't. All I knew was I wanted her attention, but I wasn't telling her that.

She seemed to accept that as an answer and was about to nod off when a bustling group of students came in.

(Emily POV)

It was the strangest thing, as soon as Hermione, Harry, George, and Fred walking in and saw Draco, they whipped out their wands and stood on the defense.

"I'm so glad your back! Ron's sick, and he's been asking for you Hermione!" I said running to stand between Draco and the rest of them.

"What is he doing here?" Harry almost spat.

"He- he helped me carry Ron back. See, I found him in the hall way and realized he was sick, so as soon as I saw Draco I asked for his help." I began to naw on my bottom lip. I was a terrible liar but they didn't seem to notice.

"You're a savior!" Fred rejoiced over dramatically and pulled me into a hug.

"A true life saver!" George chimed in and joined the hug.

I laughed awkwardly and pulled myself from their grips, but keeping a smile on my face.

"Um, if you want, I can walk you back to your room" I nodded towards Draco, who just nodded in agreement and followed me out of the room. Okay, so I didn't know exactly how this would work, considering that I had no idea where to go, but Draco seemed calm enough so I pretended to be calm as well.

"You didn't have to lie you know. Ron will probably tell them what really happened anyway." Draco stated coldly, turning his icy blue eyes to stare into mine.

I grimaced, I hadn't thought about that. "He won't tell." I said simply, and I knew he wouldn't.

"If you say so." He sighed.

"So what year are you?" I started up a conversation.

"Fifth, how about you?" He asked looking me up and down, probably guessing my age.

"Same." I shrugged.

"You know, you can come into our common room if you want." He looked at me again. His looked screamed, 'no one has to know' and it made me a little uneasy, but before I could say no, the door to his common room was open and he grabbed my hand, lightly pulling me in behind him.


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter 3~ The asinine type._

The Slytherine common room was considerably more dark then mine. It was more frightening too. Mostly everything was either black, or silver, which didn't help to lighten the mood. Their room was set up differently then ours. In the main room, was a small staircase that lead down to a flat area. The wood of that area was dark and It held black leather couches and arm chairs, set up in the same position as in the Gryffindor common room. The fire place held a fire that lit up the room with its blue flame. Two boys, around our age, were sitting on the couch and assaulted Draco with questions as soon as we entered. He dropped my hand descretely and walked towards the boys. His face hardened and it was like he had just put on a mask, he held himself higher and answered their questions while sounding in demand.

"Why is she here?" The bigger one sneered at me while winking. Eww…

"Honestly, why else would she be here?" Draco smacked him upside the head and sat down in the arm chair. "You, come here!" He said rudely, pointing at me and motioning me to come over. I did what I was asked, not quite sure how to say no and stood next to him, my face scrunched up in confusion. "Sit." He commanded and pointed to his lap. What? No.

When I didn't oblige, he just grunted and pulled me down onto his lap, ten times more roughly then he had earlier.

"Let go of me!" I squirmed until he let me go and I all but ran to the door. What the hell had gotten into him? He was so much nicer a few minutes ago.

"Where do you think your going?" He called after me as I fuddled with the door, knowing I couldn't open it with out the pass word.

"Away from you!" I spat angrily, kicking the door. A small fragile looking thing came up and whispered the pass word for me. "Thanks." I mumbled absently as I charged out of the room.

"PANSY! WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT!" Draco's voice was angry, he obviously didn't want me to 'escape' but that was a little too bad.

"Oh, I'm sorry Drakey, I didn't realize!" She said innocently, and I heard them snogging behind me. Disgusting.

Was it weird that I was upset about this? Maybe even a little jealous? Upset that he became such a jerk around other people, and jealous because….well I didn't know why I was jealous, it couldn't possibly be because they were snogging…right?

I was boiling. I knew I shouldn't care about him being such a jerk, it's not like he was my friend, or we were close in any way, I mean I know we just met and everything, but honestly! How can someone be such a jerk! I mean, one second he's perfectly normal, and the next he's an arrogant snob! I would not let this go! Maybe it was because I held grudges, or maybe it was because my emotions were high, but for some reason, I was not letting Draco Malfoy get away with this!

I was still fuming, which is probably why I hadn't noticed Ava and Rose coming towards me.

"What's wrong?" Ava questioned as soon as she stopped in front of me.

"Nothing, ate a bad muffin." I mumbled and she smiled. Her smile immediately lifted me out of my bad mood.

Rose rolled her eyes and stood up straighter, getting into her gossip pose.

"So you know the dance coming up next week?" She looked at me excitedly. Dance? What dance?

She read the confusion on my face and elaborated. "You know, the dance that kind of 'welcomes all new students' to Hogwarts!" When I didn't answer she went on, "The one that you wear puffy dresses to and spend weeks practicing your dance steps for!" When I still didn't answer she huffed dramatically.

"Sorry." I replied meekly. She just nodded it off.

"Anyway, I just wanted to let you know, that I have a date." She sounded triumphed.

"You've only been here two days!" I scoffed, looking to Ava for back up, she just bit her lip and looked away.

"I sort of, have one too." She smiled shyly.

"What! WHO!" They gushed about their dates for a full ten minutes, while we stood there in the abandoned hall way. Apparently Ava was going with Neville, a kid in my house, and Rose was going with some guy who was way to old for her.

"So who are you going with?" Rose asked, her eyes raking over me, for some unknown reason.

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know love! As if I would let you go with anyone else!" A male's voice called from behind us and I recognized it immediately. Cedric.

I turned around to find on of my best friends for the past six years running toward me.

"CEDRIC! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!" I didn't know he was a wizard! I squealed like a little girl and ran into Cedric's arms. He was so comfy.

"I go to school here silly. Now what's this I hear about a dance? You will go with me won't you?" His eyes were so innocent I had to say yes. We laughed a little as we let go of each other and I grabbed his hand, pulling him to stand beside me in our little circle. Rose's face was in a scowl, she didn't like Cedric very much, though I couldn't imagine why. Ava said it was because he liked me and not her, but I doubted that, everyone liked Rose.

"Ava. Rose." Cedric sparred them both a nod. Ava loved Cedric. They weren't really good friends, but I guess you could say she loved him more in a 'I think you and Emily would make the perfect couple' sort of way. I was boiling. I knew I shouldn't care about him being such a jerk, it's not like he was my friend, or we were close in any way, I mean I know we just met and everything, but honestly! How can someone be such a jerk! I mean, one second he's perfectly normal, and the next he's an arrogant snob! I would not let this go! Maybe it was because I held grudges, or maybe it was because my emotions were high, but for some reason, I was not letting Draco Malfoy get away with this!

I was still fuming, which is probably why I hadn't noticed Ava and Rose coming towards me.

"What's wrong?" Ava questioned as soon as she stopped in front of me.

"Nothing, ate a bad muffin." I mumbled and she smiled. Her smile immediately lifted me out of my bad mood.

Rose rolled her eyes and stood up straighter, getting into her gossip pose.

"So you know the dance coming up next week?" She looked at me excitedly. Dance? What dance?

She read the confusion on my face and elaborated. "You know, the dance that kind of 'welcomes all new students' to Hogwarts!" When I didn't answer she went on, "The one that you wear puffy dresses to and spend weeks practicing your dance steps for!" When I still didn't answer she huffed dramatically.

"Sorry." I replied meekly. She just nodded it off.

"Anyway, I just wanted to let you know, that I have a date." She sounded triumphed.

"You've only been here two days!" I scoffed, looking to Ava for back up, she just bit her lip and looked away.

"I sort of, have one too." She smiled shyly.

"What! WHO!" They gushed about their dates for a full ten minutes, while we stood there in the abandoned hall way. Apparently Ava was going with Neville, a kid in my house, and Rose was going with some guy who was way to old for her.

"So who are you going with?" Rose asked, her eyes raking over me, for some unknown reason.

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know love! As if I would let you go with anyone else!" A male's voice called from behind us and I recognized it immediately. Cedric.

I turned around to find on of my best friends for the past six years running toward me.

"CEDRIC! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!" I didn't know he was a wizard! I squealed like a little girl and ran into Cedric's arms. He was so comfy.

"I go to school here silly. Now what's this I hear about a dance? You will go with me won't you?" His eyes were so innocent I had to say yes. We laughed a little as we let go of each other and I grabbed his hand, pulling him to stand beside me in our little circle. Rose's face was in a scowl, she didn't like Cedric very much, though I couldn't imagine why. Ava said it was because he liked me and not her, but I doubted that, everyone liked Rose.

"Ava. Rose." Cedric sparred them both a nod. Ava loved Cedric. They weren't really good friends, but I guess you could say she loved him more in a 'I think you and Emily would make the perfect couple' sort of way. Me and Cedric left the common rooms hand and hand, discussing old times, and old pranks we've played. I showed him the sketch book I always carried in my bag, and we spread some pictures out on the dining hall table. We laughed, maybe a little too loudly, at one of the pictures we'd drawn together.

"Um, Emily, do you have a moment?" It was that Pansy girl from the Slytherine house.

I Looked back at Cedric who just shooed me away and continued to flip through that pages of my sketch book.

"I guess." I stood and followed her over to the corner of the dining hall where she quickly turned on me, her sweet voice completely gone.

"Listen, Draco Malfoy is not to be messed with. Do you understand? He. Is. Mine." She emphasized each word. As If I care about Draco anyway.

"Believe me honey," I said patting her on the back, "He's all yours." I turned and walked back to the table where Cedric was sitting, now in between Fred and George.

"Hey." My smile was simple as I sat back down.

"Why hello there Emily." The twins replied in unison.

"What were you guys talking about?" I asked as I grabbed a peach off the table and bit into it.

"I was about to ask you the same thing." Cedric raised his brows.

"She told me to stay away from the Malfoy guy." I smiled and rolled my eyes.

"Well you should!" All three of them commented. I starred strangely for a second but continued to eat my peach in silence.

"Well I should probably be going to bed now." I yawned for effect as I finished my peach and put my sketch book away.

"I'll walk you." Cedric offered.

"No, really Cedric! You haven't even eaten yet! Besides, I know my way back." He grimaced but sat back down anyway. "Good night everybody." I said walking out of the hall.

I walked quietly, stepping quickly from one tile to another, making my way to the common room.

"Hey Ricord! Wait up!" It was Malfoy.

"Listen, I'm really tired okay?" I said grumpily as he caught up to me.

"I just wanted to…" He gulped loudly, "appologize okay?"

I starred at him for a second, "Okay."

"So you forgive me?"

"No."

"Why not?" He sounded hurt.

"Because I'm still mad at you." It was simple.

"Okay." He sighed and put an arm around my shoulder, pulling me in to rest my head on his chest. I would have pulled away if he wasn't so soft.

I closed my eyes as we walked. I was half asleep when we got to the door, and I guess Draco thought I was actually sleeping because he lifted me up bridal style in his arms and carried me up to my room.

"What the hell are you doing!" I heard Hermione scream, and I would have told her it was alright, but I couldn't pull myself out of my sleep.

"Oh hush up Granger." I could picture him flipping her off as she walked into the bathroom and slammed the door.

He laid me in my bed and I finally gave into my exhaustion, I fell into a dreamless sleep, but not before I felt Draco lightly kiss my cheek and whisper, "Good night Emily."

I woke up to loud shouting from the common room and quickly threw on a purple tank top and a pair of grey sweat pants before running down the stairs to see what was going on.

"Why don't you just shut the hell up Hermione! You don't know what your talking about!" Ron yelled in her face and I was momentarily struck when I saw tears forming in her eyes, leaving trials down her cheeks.

"Oh shove off Ron!" She yelled and made way for the stairs, instead of making it their, I caught her in my arms and held her tight. Ron walked madly over to the couch and sat angrily next to Harry.

"What did he do?" I whispered, being nosey.

"He's mad that I'm going to the dance with a Raven claw." She muttered shamefully.

"No, he's just mad your not going with him." I said into her hair and let her cry into me. I still had no idea where my feelings lay. I mean, when I saw Cedric yesterday, it was like a spark was rekindled, I've always had a crush on him, and I slowly felt myself falling into his arms again, yet when I was with Draco, when we were by ourselves at least, I felt myself QUICKLY falling for him.

What would he think if he saw me at the dance with Cedric? Would he care? Probably not, I mean, he doesn't even like me does he? I mean, he has a girl friend right?

This dance was just causing problems for every body.

(Draco's POV)

I was going to ask her today. I knew she wouldn't say no, but I was still nervous. Who would say no to a Malfoy? Especially me? All the girl at school wanted me and I knew it. Hell, I even caught Granger starring at me a few times. I was hot. She couldn't say no. Or at least that's what I thought until I was standing in front of her outside of her common room, and she flatly said 'no' while continuing to walk down the hall way past me.

"What do you mean no? Of course your going with me? Your lucky to go with me! Who else would go with you!" She whipped around and starred me in the eyes. Her eyes were filled with tears that quickly slid down her face. Oh no, she had miss understood! What I meant was, 'everyone wants to go with me and I picked you, who are you planning on going with anyway?' but what she got was, 'your lucky someone even wants to go with you, you better say yes because no one else wants you.'

I was an ass.

"Go. Away. Malfoy." She hissed through closed teeth and ran down the hallway and back into her common room.

(Emily's POV)

How could he say that? Did he just call me ugly? Did he just call be dull and boring and unattractive and everything else that guys don't like! Okay so I always knew that I wasn't that pretty, but I was beautiful on the inside right? No one has ever just came out and called me ugly! The nerve!

I flung myself into the leather arm chair and curled myself in a ball. If I died right now, I wouldn't have cared less.

"What happened?" Cedric's voice was alarmed. Damn, I thought everyone had already left for breakfast.

I shook my head violently as Cedric sat down next to me. He pulled me in his arms and cuddled me against his chest. I thought of what Ava had said about him liking me, but pushed it to the back of my mind, I knew he didn't.

"Malfoy said…" I was blubbering now and couldn't tell the rest.

"Shh, shh, it's okay, now tell me, what did he say?" I heard venom in his voice.

"He said, that I was lucky that he wanted to go to the dance with me because no one else wanted too." I cried fresh tears and was weeping over dramatically into his shirt. Okay, so I knew it wasn't such a big deal, but I get my feelings hurt all too easily.

"Well first of all, he's wrong, because I'm going to the dance with you…and I want to. And second of all, excuse me while I go beat the lights out of him." He began to stand but I refrained him. I needed him here.

I wiped up my tears with the back of my hand and told him to wait for me while I changed into my robes.

When we reached the Gryffindor table, I could feel Draco's eyes on me, but I didn't spare him a single glance. Cedric however, was glaring daggers at him.

"Are you alright love?" Fred's kind voice asked. He must of noticed my red eyes along with everyone else.

"Fine, is there any muffins?" George handed me one and I started to nibble on the edge, pretending that I didn't feel everyone's eyes watching me.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER!" Rose's yelling erupted through the hall as she stood over me, clutching my shoulder possessively and pointing her finger at Cedric's face.

"Nothing! He didn't do a thing!" I said wide eyed as she glared at Rose.

"THEN WHY WERE YOU CRYING!" Her voice was lower this time but still loud enough for everyone to hear.

"I'll tell you later!" I insisted but she wouldn't take no for and answer.

"TELL ME!"

"It was Malfoy! Okay! He just…said some things." Me voice was a whisper as I turned back around and started on my muffin again, hoping she would get the hint and go back to her table. I felt her fuming beside me.

"She's gonna blow!" I heard the twins shout with a grin.

"DRACO MALFOY!" This scream was louder then the others and Draco's face turned to look like a deer caught in headlights. "GET YOUR ASS OUT SIDE NOW!"

"Oh no." I mumbled, trying to hide my face.

When the blonde haired boy didn't oblige, she grabbed him by the back of the collar and dragged his out on his bum, ignoring the complaints he yelled.

"God I love your sister." Ron chimed in as he clapped along with the other students.

"Save my muffin!" I pleaded with Cedric as I hopped up from the table and followed my sister out of the lunch room.

I heard the screaming before I even turned the corner.

"YOU LITTLE DICK! HOW DARE YOU!" My sister screeched, her emerald eyes scolding.

"ROSE! It's alright! It's okay! I promise!" I said pushing her away from him. When she got mad, she tended to through a few punches.

"Just go!" I yelled, pushing her away, pleading her with my eyes to just back off.

"Come by my common room tomorrow. We're going dress shopping." She said cheerfully, as if she was never mad.

I turned to face Draco. He was absolutely livid.

He just stood there starring at me like he was going to hex me, probably thinking it was my fault my sister had embarrassed him in from of the whole school.

"I'm sorry." He said. Okay, wasn't expecting that. He calmed down quickly and took me into a bear hug.

"Uh, it's…okay?" I was a little more then confused but was oddly eager to forgive him.

"Do you forgive me?"

"Yes."

"Good." And with that he touched, more like pressed, his lips to mine. When he pulled away he starred into my eyes and I could feel my heart beating in my stomach.

My eyes widened when I realized what just happened. "I need to go!" I said urgently.

"WHAT! WHY! WHERE!" He screeched,

"I need to go, because I want my muffin, and to find Cedric." I answered all of his questions swiftly and walked, no, FLEW down the hall way back to the dinning hall.

I was so happy I was 'believe it or not, I'm walking on air,' as the song goes.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Next chapter is LOADS better, I promise XD **_

_Chapter 4~ Shopping_

I was never really one for shopping, but I knew Rose was so I pretended that I actually cared for her sake. She had dragged me and Ava to one of those muggle dress shops that we were so used to. As a kid, Rose always loved Barbie dolls, I guess that's why as soon as we got in the door, she began ordering me and Ava to try on dresses, saying that 'this one was perfect', or 'that one was absolutely you.' Only to decide later that she didn't like them. I had tried on nine dresses before Rose had even tried on one. She needed to make sure we were content with our dresses so we could all focus on finally finding her the perfect dress.

I searched the racks and found a dress. It was my size, my style, my color, and fit perfectly, but Rose didn't like it. It wasn't until the forth dress that I picked out that Rose approved. It was simple. It was a purple color and molded to my body perfectly. It was a spaghetti strap, dress that had a silk bow below the bust and tied in the back. Right below the ribbon, it puffed out into a short, almost ball gown look, but hung snugly in the middle of my thigh. Above the ribbon was black lace that covered the straps as well. I was happy with the turn out of my dress. Ava on the other hand, looked all the more ravishing. Her black silk, off the shoulder, shirt like dress was breath taking. It brought out her tan and made her eyes shine brightly. I smiled at her, giving the thumbs up and Rose did the same. Next up was Rose's dress. I knew she'd pick something green, but I didn't expect her to pick an olive color. It was a beautiful dress. It was made of cotton and came with a large brown belt around the waist, it fell off both shoulders and hung loosely to her body. To say the least, it was perfect.

We purchased the dresses and loaded that bags along with matching shoes into the car. We drove back to the castle and started planning out how we were going to do our hair and make up in the Raven claw common room until it was almost curfew.

I jumped up quickly and started towards the Gryffindor common room.

"What dress did you pick out for the dance were going to together?" Draco's voice came up behind me and he put his arm around my waist.

"I told you, I can't go with you." I sped up and made him drop his arm.

"Well why not?" He asked as he ran up next to me.

"I already have a date." I blushed deeply and hoped he wouldn't notice.

"Please tell me it's not that damned Weasley!" he whined.

"No it's not. I'm going with Cedric. He asked me a while ago."

"A while ago! How long could it have been! You meet me on the first day! The dance is tomorrow! You had to have known I would have asked you!"

"Well, I didn't know that actually! I didn't think you liked me in the least, so why would you invite me to the dance!"

"Because, every girl wants me because I'm so god damned hot, it only fits that I should go with another hot person." He smiled wickedly. Did he just call me hot? Or was he just bragging about himself?

"Well I'm sorry Draco, but I already told Cedric yes, so maybe next time." I concluded as we reached the common room.

He sighed. "Good night." He placed his lips on mine for a second and pulled away slowly. Did he just kiss me…again! EHHH!

"Good night." I said backing into the common room and closing the door, trying not to let him see how giddy his kisses left me.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Okay, this isn't one of the best chapters…but I hope you like it!**_

_Chapter 5~ Dance_

_The next morning I was woken up by small hands nudging me and calling my name._

"_Yes, yes, what is it?" I said turning over, "OH! Harry!" I hadn't had such a good relationship with Harry, which is why he was the last person I would have expected to be waking me up._

"_Hello Emily, I-it's just that your sisters are asking for you in the common room. I told them I _

_w-would come wake you." _

"_Oh, well thanks then." I sat up and we looked at each other, when he didn't leave I said, "Is there anything else?" _

"_W-well, I was just wondering if you had a date for the dance today?" _

"_Yes I do actually, but just as friends, make sure you save me a dance or two though Harry!" I thought about me and Cedric just being friends, I wish it was more, but knew it never would be. I had no idea what was going on with me. I knew Cedric, I liked him, but I didn't know Draco, and I liked him more. Is that possible?_

"_Yes of course I will." He stayed a few minutes longer while we just looked at each other. AWKWARD._

"_Well if you don't mind I really should be getting changed." I motioned down at my pajama's. _

"_Oh yes, yes, of course!" He left the room then. I liked Harry, but he seemed sort of….out of it, sometimes. _

_I threw on a pair of purple skinny jeans and a yellow tank top. I had no idea where my sisters were planning on taking me, so I decided to just leave my hair down._

"_There you are! Finally! Come on! We're not going to have enough time!" Of course Rose was worried about the time._

"_Time for what?" _

"_We're going to the Raven claw common room to get ready. And by that I mean we get to sit there while Rose does our hair, make up, and outfits of course." Ava rolled her eyes and Rose smacked me upside the head when I groaned over dramatically._

"_Oh lets just go! You two are such babies." She grabbed our hands and pulled us to her common room. When we got there, I called Hermione and Ginny, inviting them to come over. Every girl from Raven claw was there and Rose was doing each ones makeup, while Ava did mine. Ava wasn't as skilled as Rose, but I trusted her. When she was finished I was happy with the results. Instead of going all out like Rose would have, she just did a small amount of mascara, eye liner, and eye shadow. She said I didn't need foundation, so I didn't use it. Even though all the other girls had._

_Rose had just finished everyone's make up and half the girls hair and left them go to get their dresses on. When everyone else was finally done, I was surprised to see that the dance started in only an hour. Ava quickly did a curling spell on my hair and fixed it so half of it was up in an antic silver clip, and the rest fell down to my chest. Since there wasn't much she could do to her hair, she left it as usual with the exception of a few curls. Rose did this blow out, up due, type thing that I would never be able to pull off, and by the time we were done, we were the last ones to leave the room. _

_Okay, so we weren't exactly on time, but we weren't too late. We reached the top of the stair case in the middle of the second song and Ava and Rose linked arms, they gestured for me to do the same but I shook my head no._

"_Give me a minute." They just nodded in agreement and continued down the steps. A few people looked and they meet their dates at the bottom and linked arms with them. _

"_Nervous?" I turned around to see Harry standing behind me. _

"_Extremely….how about you?" I knew I shouldn't be nervous but I was._

"_Absolutely terrified." I laughed, _

"_Together then?" I asked and took his arm. He nodded and we continued down the steps. A few people looked, no wait, that was an understatement, a lot of people looked. Probably because I was walking with 'Harry Potter' who I learned is like, a hero or something. _

_When we got to the bottom Cedric was waiting for me. I turned to Harry and smiled as I let go of his arm and took Cedric's. _

"_You look beautiful." Cedric whispered and kissed me on the cheek. I could feel myself blushing deeply, but pretended not to notice. His kiss reminded me of when Draco had kissed me the other day, only Draco's kiss was more…well, it was better._

_We danced most of the night. Just me and Cedric, talking about the up coming events and such, I was informed about the girls choice dance that was happening in another week or so, and about the Halloween parties they held every year while we moved out feet to the music. I tried to pretend like I knew how to dance, but failed. _

_Cedric didn't seem to mind though. We were dancing to Fall Out Boy's song Dance, Dance when Draco tapped Cedric on the shoulder._

"_What do you want Malfoy?" Cedric sneered._

"_A dance." He implied, hoping out a hand to me._

"_She doesn't want to dance with you." I was aware that a few people were starring._

"_How would you know?" _

"_You know what guys, I promised Harry a dance anyway, so I'll just come find you later." I said to no one in particular and started towards where Harry was sitting. _

_It was easier dancing with Harry then it had been with Cedric. Probably because me and Harry weren't the best dancers. He would constantly apologize for stepping on my feet and I would apologize for stepping on his and then we would laugh. After about three songs, Hermione cut in and I went to sit by the table. _

_Malfoy came over looking a little more then angry._

"_So you'd rather dance with Potter then with me?" He said the name like it was an insult. _

"_Well, no, but I would rather dance with someone who isn't as angry as you all the time." I was raising my voice but his was louder._

"_What did you just say to me Ricord! What did you just say!" Eyes were on us, I could feel them._

"_Malfoy please. I did not accept your invitation to the dance, I accepted Cedric's. So if you are going to sit here and blame me because you didn't ask me first, then go away!" _

"_DO YOU KNOW WHO YOUR TALKING TO!" _

"_YES! I AM TALKING TO THE BIGGEST ASS I HAVE EVER MEET!" If there was any chance that some people weren't listening, it was gone now. The room was quiet, the music stopped and it reminded me of why I never really liked dances in the first place._

"_WELL I AM TALKING TO THE BIGGEST, SELFISH, UGLY, SELF CENTERED, PIG I'VE EVER MEET!" Were those tears on my cheeks? Oh god, was I crying? Oh no, not in front of all these people! "STOP CRYING YOU BIG BAFOON!" His voice boomed over me once again and I couldn't stop as the tears came faster. I still sat in the chair at the table when I saw Cedric come up and shove Draco against the wall. Harry was the next one to him and pressed his wand up against his neck. Fred and George were close behind and stood in the defense as Two of Draco's friends showed up to protect him._

"_JUST STOP IT! ALL OF YOU!" I screamed and they all stepped away from Draco._

"_Are you alright?" Cedric asked coming over to me and lowering his voice._

"_I just want to go to bed." I complained._

_Cedric didn't say anything, he just put and arm around my waist and hauled me down the hall way and back to the Gryffindor room. Draco Malfoy was the foulest boy I've ever meet. Yet what he said was true. It had to be. Because if it wasn't, it wouldn't have hurt so much._


	6. Chapter 6

This ones really short, next one will be much longer

(Draco POV)

I didn't want to say it, but I had too. She had just insulted me in front of the entire school. I couldn't let her get away with that. I couldn't be humiliated. Though after I said it, and tears sprung in her eyes, I couldn't help but wish I was humiliated instead. It hurt to see her cry. She was so pretty, yet when she was upset, her face twisted into an even more beautiful frown and tears would wet her cheeks. I wanted so badly to wipe those tears away, but not with the whole school watching. After all, appearance is everything.

I knew I had to talk to her, but I also knew that I should give her some space. But how much space did she need? A day? A Week? A MONTH?

I spent the next six days, starring at her. When I had a chance, I would talk to her. But she would just get teary again and tell me to go away.

Okay, so she was a little more upset with me then I had expected, but that doesn't mean I was going to give up. Those six days were the worst. All I could think about was her face that night, knowing that I was the one who made her cry. I couldn't even go snogging with all the girls that threw themselves at me, it killed me inside. What the hell was wrong with me? I was Draco Malfoy damn it! I was the dark prince! The dragon! The most envied guy in Hogwarts!

It was lunch. I sat in my usual seat, starring at her. She was with that Cedric guy like she always was. His arm was around her shoulder and I wished that it was my arm instead. Were they seeing each other? Probably not. Ever since the dance all she does is cry, and when she doesn't cry, she just sits there and pretends nothings wrong. Does she think we don't realize how red her eyes are all the time? I needed to make it up to her, and I knew exactly how to do it.


	7. Chapter 7

_(Emily's POV)_

Potions class, if possible, was incredibly more boring then usual. Don't get me wrong, I'm totally for the little bottles of magic, but when it came right down to learning the history of it all, I wasn't the happiest of the students. I was sitting in the back, something I rarely did, waiting for the rest of the class to come in. The class hadn't even started yet, but Snape had already started teaching. I was drawing a picture in my sketch book, hoping the teacher wouldn't notice when the rest of the class got there, with the exception of a few people. The seat next to me was open and I hoped no one would take it. I just didn't want to act happy today. Something shinny and cold hit my neck and I looked down to see a beautiful, large silver charm. In the center was a large blue gem, surrounded by small diamonds. A silver snake was wrapped around the gem, holding it in place. It was beautiful. I looked up at the person hooking it onto my neck with a smile on my face.

It was Draco. He smiled back and sat down next to me. My smile disappeared as soon as I realized who it was.

"I don't want it." I said coldly but didn't make a move to take it off.

"Oh hush, your keeping it….do you like it?" He asked.

"Yes." I frowned, he just laughed quietly.

"What are you drawing?"

"Um, I don't know." I said covering the picture I was sketching of him with my arm. If he saw, he didn't let on that he did.

"I'm sorry."

"I don't care." Oh how I wanted to care! How I wanted to tell him that it was alright and kiss him again! But I didn't. My stubborn self wouldn't let me.

"I really am sorry." He whispered. His mouth was against my ear and I shivered at the thought of him being so close.

"I forgive you." WHAT THE HELL! NO I DON'T! Stupid heart!

His smile was brighter then a lighthouse as he sat back in his chair, perfectly smug.

Stupid Draco.

Cedric stared at us as he walked in. Twenty points were taken from Gryffindor because of his lateness but he couldn't care less. His eyes stayed glued to mine, silently asking if I was alright.

I nodded slightly as he took his seat. When the final bell rang I started to pack up my stuff. Draco lingered next to me and Cedric walked over.

Before I knew what he was doing, Cedric planted his lips on mine and put his arm around my waist leading me out of the classroom, his eyes never leaving Draco's.

I looked back at Draco with the most confused, sorry, expression on my face. Telling him that I had no idea why he kissed me. And I really didn't know. Why the hell would Cedric kiss me, especially on the lips! I mean, he didn't even like me like that. And I didn't like him like that….did I?

"Cedric! What are you doing!" I all but hissed as Draco walked up next to us.

"You don't need this." Cedric sneered, pulling the necklace Draco had given me off.

"Yes I do! Give it back! It's mine!"

"Believe me! If it's from Draco, you don't want it." He grunted. What the hell was he talking about!

My expression hardened. "_Petrolem!" _I cast the spell and he froze, like a human statue, unable to move. I removed my necklace from his hand just as Draco was catching up to us.

"What happened!" Draco asked breathlessly.

"I wanted my necklace back." I said quietly looking down.

He looked at me like I was crazy for a minute. "Of course you did." He sighed heavily, taking my hand and walking me to my next class.

(DPOV)

Was it possible that I, Draco Malfoy, was actually falling for this girl? I mean, first she yells at me for hexing the red head, then she has the nerve to dance with that retched Potter, and right in front of the entire class, she casts a spell on her best friend because she wanted the necklace back that _I gave her. So does that mean I like her…or that she likes me? Does she like me? Does she like it when I kiss her? Does she hate it? Is she too nice to tell me to stop? BUT DOES SHE LIKE ME! Why do you care! You shouldn't care! Don't care! I took a deep breath._

"_Thanks for walking me to class." She whispered, playing with the necklace's charm around her neck._

"_Anytime." I put on my famous smirk and kissed her lightly, catching her off guard. But before she could come to her senses and tell me to shove off, I pulled away and walked quickly down the hallway. Merlin, I hope she likes me._


End file.
